Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-01-01
The Secretary of War and the COnquerer of the Apaehes,
| lrAn-lAied from the Weekly Illinois sta.t
 lelfn.-.. L.- I..I--. A sl.-...--I

of War Eadicots General Miles is al- most directly accused of disobedienc. to orders issued by the war department inasmuch as he allowed the surrender or Geronimo and his murderous band under conditions which excluded the . trisl and execution of the chief and his cO-murdererq.
 We thus have now an official repeti- ton of the nonsensical talk which was started few weeks Hgo from the ns- tional capital.
 After such Q serious accusation by the Secretary Oi WaE against General Miles
 IL would be generally expected that the latter should be ordered before a gen erai court martial and tried for 'insub-
 ordination UT disobedience of orders.
 But what does Mir. Endicott do! At 0
 public banquet this same secretary
 drinks to the health and general vel
 lare of the by hIm SD heavily accused
 General Cud exchanges with him the
 most friendly wishes and cOngratulB-
 tions. In the memory of tbe oldest
 army officer no like circumstance exists:
 the fact ;L4t tho secretary of war holds
 iTiendlg intercourse wIth an officer ac-
 cused by him oi 60 serious misde-
 meauOr has never been known before,
 much less was sach au oii CT ever iu-
 Yiicd to a banquet given by the secre-
 tary Of wsT-Bu honor extended 10 Gen.
 Mues last week ID Washington where be 1 staid few days. almost immediately
 after the secretary's famous tor rather
 InfamOuE) report had been sent to con
 gress.
 l This same secretary of war had al- ready during ;he summer 'oonsiderG- be misunderstanding" with Gen. Mics. | indsmuch as be did what he could 70 prevent ths latter from sending from | San CaIlOs tO Florida several hundred | apparently friendly but by no means Ie- l-atle Chir;cahua Apaches, feat which | General MIls5 accomplished all obs.a-' | cles notwithstanding,
 In order to give some explanation in regard 10 the Secreiary's inconsistent conduct m tue matter, it is nov said that | Mir. EniIcott oil not write his annual report himself. bus thst saii report Is & | product of the Den of Adiutaut Genss- sl Drum, bitter personal enemy of General Miles whose fame ns Indian | couquerer be becrudges. Still 1t would seem that the Secretary oi war should | b. considered responsible for al docu- ments to which he aiiixes his official sIg- | nature. Ills great merit consists in be- | ing tue sUr-in-law Of Mir. Peabody the | late pLilantrope and millionaire and one Ui the shining tights Of New Eugland | society people, but this merit does not exclude the possibility of his being llockhead and confusionist.
 h order to decide whether General Miles has really been guilty of the dis obedience laid Co his charge II would be necessary to know exactly and literally what Lis instructions were. One thing | is certain, be has the sympathy and the l deep gratitude Of the people and espe- cially Ui the countries which be has re- lieveG of the terrible sc9urga The | whole nation knows that he did not | jump il:3 glory Oyeriagh: like hush | room, bu. that he haa acquired his rank | and fame by hard service and uudRunt- ed bravery ou many bloody field dur ing the war of toe rebellion and m sub jlgaiing the Sioux, Nsz Perces and Cbi- 1 ricBhuRs. As to Geronimo and his band We may
 
 death by execution 10 the "slOw guillo- tine" ID Florida, where they will un- doubtly soon perish from fever and in ertia. Pity they deserve none, US they Lever felt any for their victims, and as to detrac.ing one iota from the merit of General Miles who has delivered Ari- zons, New Mexico, Sonora and Chihus- hua of the bloOdthiTsty rcdskins-nO Secretary of war Endlcott eau do II.
 soMETHING NEW UNDER THE SUN.
 The secretary of war, Endicott, in his l annual report accusas General Miles of | disobediouce against certain instruc- | ti0rs of the war department, in as much | as Miles. contrary to sRid instructions, | at the surrender of Geronimo and his | followers, promised them that their lives | should be spared.
 The nation was entitled to know whEt | said certsin instru )tions containei and I the nation now kUows it.
 When General Miles ID April last re- | lieved General Crook in the command | of the Department of Arizona, he found | at healqu.cteTs an order from the War | Dcpsrtmcnt; dated March 3ist, in which | iz stated: The commanding general of Ar.zona k empowered to grant to Ger onimo st his surrender his and his fol lowers lives" This order sent to h:5 predecessor, was of course in force also for General Miles. unless be received special orders of another tenure, which be never did.
 Now in the anuuEl report of the sec retary of war. General Miles IS accused of Standardization (thCn which there is only one grGVer cnme mentioned m tne articles of WAT of the United Statesl because he has acted exactly according to certsin instructions of the war de- psrtment. IL logically follows then that m the opinion of the most singular Of all secretaries of war, the obedience of q general consists in toing just the re verse of what his superior officer may dictate to him. and he becomes guilty of naturalization Rs soon Bs he nets Tn accordance with orders from above.
 To .he great Endico:t therefore be- longs the fame of having given the lie to Bsn Akiba's sayInR: "ThcTe is nOth- ing new under the suuT For really such a thing has never been heard ot
 The friends of the secretary Of war aylr that he intrusted Adjatant Geo sr.I Drum with the composition of his aurusl report and that he signed II without even taking coguizance of iis contents; that Drum partly through per sonsI ill feeling, partly through erron cons information arrived nt the stGted results. X stronger accusation than this excusation can hardly be imagined.
 To such heroes of war like Sheridan, Terry, and Miles, it must undoubtedly bo n hnrassiug feeling to have such "super;or oiIicer;r still be has the charm of novelty. 1t is a happy circumstance that tho nation need have no fear, ct least of an immediate war, otherwise It might come Co grief through tho most | unaccOuntable bleidiosyncrscies of the chief | of the War Department, while under l the present circumstances the president | in keeping such an anomaly in his cahi- | net only contributes to the general hi- larity.
 Even General Miles though 90 grave 1 ly and uniustly accrsei IS said to see l principally tbe buEorous side of the 1 question. He Is spoken of ss smilingiy l looking on how MT. Endicott tortures his crsnIum ID order 10 find a way 10 re- tract hIs accusation wiihou. confessiDg himself 10 be a downright blockhead-